Multi-purpose blanket and arm pad

ABSTRACT

A multi-purpose device configurable between a blanket and a pad, such as an arm pad includes a fabric sheet forming at least a portion of the blanket. A first fastener is disposed on the first surface of the sheet and a second fastener, distally located from the first fastener, is disposed on the second surface of the sheet. The sheet is configurable in a non-folded arrangement as a blanket such that the first and second fasteners are not fastened, and the blanket is configurable in a folded arrangement as a pad such that the first and second fasteners are connected. The pad may be configured to be wrapped around and fastened to an object, such as a car seat handle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority fromU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/640,943, filed May 1, 2012,incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present description relates generally to an infant care product andmore particularly to a multi-purpose blanket and arm pad.

BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART

Providing physical and mental stimulation at an early age has become anaccepted norm for raising an infant. It is typically accepted thatbabies need to sleep on their backs, but should spend awake time ontheir tummies. Recent research has shown that babies who do not spendenough time on their tummies, may fall behind on their developmentalmilestones. It is also generally recommended that infants be supervisedby an adult during tummy time and tummy time sessions should also alwaysbe held on the floor. While providing a soft, safe location for aninfant on the floor may be relatively easy at home, when away from thehouse, adults may prefer to resort to utilizing a blanket to protect theinfant against dirt, germs, etc. Thus, in light of the typically activelifestyle of today's parents, it is oftentimes beneficial for a parentto carry and provide a comfortable and portable blanket for an infant torest upon during tummy time sessions.

In addition, most states currently have laws requiring infants to berestrained in special safety seats whenever they are travelling invehicles. Therefore every parent is required by law in most places toplace their infants in such seats. Ideally parents desire one seat thatthey can place their infant in, can carry them around, and if travellingby a vehicle, strap the infant in the same seat. Most infant car seats,however, will accommodate an infant up to at least 22 pounds, which maymake carrying the infant in the car seat difficult, awkward, and in someinstance, painful. While some infant car seats available in the marketinclude a carrying handle, the provided handle oftentimes comes withminimal padding, usually inadequate to protect and/or pad the adult'shand and/or crook of the elbow. Thus, there is an identifiable need toprovide a product that cushions and prevent the car seat handle fromdigging into and injuring the carrier's arm.

In light of these issues, it is evident that packing for an excursionout of the house can be an ordeal for people with small children. Bagscan easily become filled with toys, blankets, pads, and otherchild-care-related items, including diapers, sanitary wipes, clothing,powders, pacifiers, etc. Thus, providing a blanket that allows for aparent to provide an infant with a clean, cushioned place for a tummytime session and also providing an additional cushion for protecting theparent's arm when carrying the car seat simply adds to the number ofitems that the parent must remember to pack and/or carry while out ofthe house.

Accordingly, there is real need for a multipurpose device that can beutilized both as a blanket and as an arm pad for a car seat, therebyproviding for a solution while eliminating at least one extra item thatan adult must carry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of an example multipurpose blanket ofthe present disclosure shown in its expanded state.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the example blanket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the example blanket showing a firstside of the blanket being folded onto a center portion.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the example blanket showing a secondside of the blanket being folded onto the center portion.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the example blanket showing a firstportion of the center portion of the blanket being folded into an armpad.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the example blanket showing a secondportion of the center portion of the blanket being folded into an armpad.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the example arm pad formed by foldingthe blanket as illustrated in FIGS. 3-6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the example arm pad shown attached to aninfant car seat handle.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the example fastener locatedon the top face of the example blanket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of example methods and apparatus is notintended to limit the scope of the description to the precise form orforms detailed herein. Instead the following description is intended tobe illustrative so that others may follow its teachings.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, an example multipurpose blanket 10 isshown in its expanded state with a generally circular perimeter 14. InFIG. 1, a first face 12 of the example blanket 10 is shown. In FIG. 2, asecond face 16 of the example blanket is shown. In this example, the twofaces 12, 16 are manufactured from two separate fabrics, sewn togetheralong the perimeter 14 to form the blanket 10. It will be appreciated,however that the two faces 12, 16 may be made from any combination offabrics and/or suitable materials, including a single layer, multiplelayers and/or various combinations of layers and/or materials asdesired.

In regard to the material utilized, each of the two faces 12, 16 may bemade from any suitable foldable fabric and/or material as desired,including, for example, a fleece-type material. In at least oneembodiment, the material is preferable machine-washable, but the blanket10 may be manufactured from any washable and/or non-washable material asdesired. Additionally, as mentioned, the two example faces 12, 16 may besuitably attached via any means including sewing, fastening, etc., andin at least some embodiments, the two faces 12, 16 may be at leastpartially separable, such as, through the use of a zipper, buttons,ties, hook and loop, and/or other fastener. Additionally, in at leastone example, the blanket 10 may include padding and/or other fillermaterial (not shown). Still further, at least one face 12, 16 of theblanket 10 may be integrally or separately provided with a water-proof,water-resistant, and/or germ resistant material as preferred.

In this example, the first face 12 of the example blanket 10 includes atleast one interactive element 20, such as, for example, a flexiblemirror to provide stimulation to an infant placed on the blanket 10.While a mirror is shown, the blanket 10 may include other interactiveelements including colors, patterns, tactile elements, visual elements,tie, buttons, zippers, snaps, hooks, etc. In this example, the firstface 12 is intended to be used as the primary space for an infant to beplaced, but it will be appreciated that either side of the blanket 10may be used. Still further, while the blanket 10 is currentlyillustrated as being generally circular in shape, any suitable shape maybe provided, including simply geometric shapes, such as squares,rectangles, etc. and/or complex geometric shapes such as characters,animals, objects, etc.

For attaching the blanket to a car seat handle, the first surface 12 isprovided with a flap 22 having a first fastener 24. In this example, thefirst fastener 24 includes either a hook or loop material as is wellknown in the art. Complimentarily, for receiving the first fastener 24,attached to the second surface 16 is a corresponding second fastener 26,which in this example includes the corresponding hook or loop materialto couple to the first fastener 24 when the blanket 10 is folded asdescribed. To better provide a soft material surface for an infant, thefastener 24 may be provided with a mating fastener 28 that allows theflap 22 to fold over such that the fastener 24 is no longer exposed,thereby preventing accidental contact with either of the fasteners 24,28 when in normal use. An example of the flap 22 in a folded positionmay be seen in FIG. 9. Although a hook and loop fastenerstructure/material is described and shown, it is to be understood thatthe materials may be connected via any suitable fastening meansincluding buttons, buckles, ties, etc., as desired.

At least one of the first and second surfaces 12, 16 may be providedwith optional creases and/or fold-lines 30 a, 30 b for assisting infolding the blanket 10 as desired. For example, as illustrated in thepresent example, the fold lines 30 a, 30 b are formed through use ofstitching such as, for example, quilting stitches. The example foldlines 30 a, 30 b generally divide the blanket 10 into a first portion 31a, a second portion 31 b, and a center portion 31 c. It will beappreciated, however, that the fold-line, if present, may be providedvia any suitable means including different fabrics, patches, etc. andmay divide the blanket 10 into any number of portions suitable forfolding.

FIGS. 3-7 show one method of folding the blanket 10 into a compact form,which may be used as a pad 32 such as an arm pad for use as with ahandle 34 of an infant car seat 36 as illustrated in FIG. 8. As shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, the blanket 10 is folded along the fold lines 30 a, 30 bso that, in this example, the blanket 10 is folded approximately inthirds with the first and second portion 31 a, 31 b being folded ontothe center portion 31 c. Thus, as illustrated, the partially foldedblanket 10 is approximately the width of the flap 22, but it will beunderstood that the width of the folded blanket 10 (e.g. the centerportion 31 c) and/or the width of the flap 22 may vary.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the blanket 10 may then be further folded tobring the fastener 26 into mating contact with the fastener 24. Forinstance, the example blanket 10 is again folded in third, as shown inFIG. 5, and in third again as shown in FIG. 6. It will be understoodthat the blanket 10 may be alternatively folded in various waysincluding, for example, by rolling, folding in fourths, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the folded blanket 10 generally defines acenterline 40. In this example, the object (e.g., the handle 34) aboutwhich the blanket 10 is to be attached to form the pad 32 is broughtinto contact with the centerline 40 for the final step. Moreparticularly, the blanket 10 aligned such that the handle 34 is placedon the centerline 40 and the blanket 10 is folded about the centerline40 to form the pad 32 illustrated in FIG. 7. To secure the pad 32 to thehandle 34, the flap 22 is pulled over the surface 16 to couple thefastener 24 to the fastener 26, thereby removably attaching the pad 32over the handle 34. FIG. 8 illustrates one example of the blanket 10folded about the handle 34 of the car seat 36 to form an arm pad 32.

Sill further, as can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the surface 16 of theblanket 10 may include at least one item attachment point, such as forexample loops 46, ties, buttons, etc., for attaching an object to thepad 32. Additionally, as best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, theperimeter 14 of the blanket 10 may include at least one item attachmentpoint such as a loop 47 for attaching an object to the blanket 10 in theextended state. For instance, the loops 46, 47 may be utilized to attachtoys and/or other visually and/or physically stimulating items above thecar seat 36 and/or on the blanket 10 when extended. Still further, thesurfaces 12, 16 of the blanket 10, and thus the outer surface of the pad32 may be provided with visually interesting patterns, colors, etc. tosimulate and engage an infant placed on the blanket 10 or in the carseat 36.

Although certain example methods and apparatus have been describedherein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. Onthe contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus, and articles ofmanufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claimseither literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A multi-purpose blanket and pad device comprising: a fabricsheet having a first surface and a second surface; a first fastenerdisposed on the first surface of the fabric sheet; and a second fastenerdisposed on the second surface of the fabric sheet and distally locatedfrom the first fastener, wherein the fabric sheet is configurable in anon-folded arrangement with the first and second fasteners not fastenedto form the blanket, and the fabric sheet is configurable in a foldedarrangement to form a pad, and wherein the pad is configured to bewrapped about at least a portion of an object and the first fastener isarranged to be releasably fastened to the second fastener to retain thepad around the object.
 2. A multi-purpose device as recited in claim 1,further comprising at least one line of weakness about which the fabricsheet is folded.
 3. A multi-purpose device as recited in claim 2,wherein the at least one line of weakness is formed at least partiallyby stitches.
 4. A multi-purpose device as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising a third fastener disposed on the first side of the fabricsheet proximate to the first fastener, wherein the first and thirdfastener are connectable in the non-folded arrangement to hide at leasta portion of at least one of the first or second fasteners.
 5. Amulti-purpose device as recited in claim 1 wherein the first and secondfasteners are complementary hook and loop fasteners.
 6. A multi-purposedevice as recited in claim 1, further comprising at least one of apadding or filler material disposed at least partially between the firstsurface and the second surface.
 7. A multi-purpose device as recited inclaim 1, further comprising at least one of a water-proof,water-resistant, or germ resistant material disposed at least partiallybetween or within the first surface and the second surface.
 8. Amulti-purpose device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a flapextending from a portion of a perimeter of the fabric sheet, wherein thefirst fastener is disposed on the flap.
 9. A multi-purpose device asrecited in claim 1, wherein the fabric sheet is generally circular inshape.
 10. A multi-purpose device as recited in claim 1, wherein atleast one of the first surface and the second surface comprises aninteractive element.
 11. A multi-purpose device as recited in claim 10,wherein the interactive element is a mirror.
 12. A multi-purpose deviceas recited in claim 1, further comprising at least one item attachmentpoint disposed on at least one of the first or second surfaces.
 13. Amulti-purpose device as recited in claim 12, wherein the item attachmentpoint is a loop of material.
 14. A multi-purpose device as recited inclaim 12, wherein the item attachment point is disposed along aperimeter of the fabric sheet.
 15. A multi-purpose device as recited inclaim 12, wherein the item attachment point is disposed on the secondsurface such that the item attachment point is exposed when the deviceis in the folded arrangement and wrapped around the object.
 16. Amulti-purpose device as recited in claim 1, further comprising twoparallel lines of weakness extending at least partially across thelength of the fabric sheet, wherein the blanket is foldable about thelines of weakness.
 17. A multi-purpose device as recited in claim 16,wherein the two parallel lines of weakness generally divide the fabricsheet into thirds.
 18. A multi-purpose device as recited in claim 16,further comprising a flap having a width extending from a portion of aperimeter of the fabric sheet, wherein the first fastener is disposed onthe flap, and wherein the lines of weakness are disposed approximatelythe width of the flap apart.
 19. A multi-purpose device as recited inclaim 1, wherein the object is a handle of an infant care product.
 20. Amethod of converting a blanket into an arm pad for a handle comprising:providing a fabric sheet forming a blanket, the blanket having a firstsurface and a second surface, the first surface including a firstfastener, and the second surface including a corresponding secondfastener; folding the blanket; wrapping the folded blanket about thehandle; coupling the first fastener to the second fastener to releasablefasten the wrapped blanket around the handle.